


forever and always; eternally yours

by valcellarum



Series: the 5 love languages [1]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Love Letters, Other, Pet Names, Slice of Life, also 'best friend and lover' is my new favorite gender neutral thing to call a significant other, and married, i am so in love with the pet names you don't even know, venom and eddie leave each other notes bc they're disgustingly in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-05 01:40:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16358216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valcellarum/pseuds/valcellarum
Summary: There was a flutter of joy across their bond, followed by,I love you, Eddie.He nudged the verbal sentiment back at Venom in his head even though the vague thought had been on their shared mind all day. Every day, really.But relationships take work. Maybe theirs can survive without explicit affirmations or gestures of love, but isn't it so much better to prosper?





	forever and always; eternally yours

**Author's Note:**

> i've fallen into hell and i love it here
> 
> seriously, i watched the movie last week and i still can't stop thinking about it

It began with a fortune, one of those little slips from a fortune cookie.

They'd gotten Chinese earlier that day, enough to feed a nuclear family and their twenty cousins. The stern-looking lady behind the counter had warmed visibly as she took the order, more than happy to oblige Eddie's bashful request at the end for the box of cookies on the counter.

"Ah, party yeah?"

"You could say that." He responded with a laugh, echoed by a warm rumble in his head, before turning the conversation onto her, asking about her husband and her children, her soon-to-be status as a grandmother.

The food was ready and they were on their way back to the apartment within twenty minutes.

It was a crisp, windy day and Eddie had his collar turned up, which gave his darling the perfect opportunity to wrap around his neck like a scarf. He kissed the alien disguised as dark fabric and whispered, "Happy anniversary, love."

There was a flutter of joy across their bond, followed by,  ** _I love you, Eddie._**

He nudged the verbal sentiment back at Venom in his head even though the vague thought had been on their shared mind all day. Every day, really.

But relationships take work. Maybe theirs can survive without explicit affirmations or gestures of love, but isn't it so much better to prosper?

That's why that evening found Eddie walking against the billowing wind to the center of the Golden Gate Bridge. Venom was a languid presence beneath his skin and at the back of his mind.

After finishing off their abnormally large lunch, they'd fallen into bed and enjoyed each other lazily, savoring each kiss, each touch, before dozing off after two intermittent orgasms. Eddie had eventually woken up to the crinkle-crunch of Venom entertaining themselves next to the pile of food containers.

They looked up at the tower at the same time, Eddie's resolve as steady as their beating heart. He still wasn't totally comfortable with heights, but it was something he wanted to share with Venom.

He was about to pull his hands from his pockets to let Venom take over when his finger caught on a small piece of paper. He held it underneath the streetlamp to read.

> _Stop searching forever. Happiness is just next to you._

"Darling," he murmured, knowing his love would hear him over the traffic and wind, "did you leave this for me?"

**_I tried to find a better one, but that was the only one that came close to expressing how I feel. There were a lot about money. And one about someone being trapped in a Chinese bakery? I know it's not the same as taking us out here, but I'd hoped you'd like it._ **

"It's perfect," he reassured. "Thank you, dear. I love it and I'll treasure it forever. You are indeed my happiness, as I hope to always be yours."

**_Yes. Eddie. Mine._ **

"Now, shall we?" He asked, even as he felt the tell-tale ripple of Venom emerging from under his skin and forming around him.

* * *

The next time it happened, Eddie was sitting in bed, working on a piece about a recent spike in opioid overdoses, likely related to the mass layoff of workers at a group of nearby plants a couple months back. He wanted the article to be impactful, for it to  _matter_  to people, but something just wasn't clicking.

He'd been at this for hours. He'd start pulling at his hair if it didn't bother Venom every time he did anything potentially harmful towards himself out of anxiety or stress.

He opened his Stickies tab to try to reorganize his thoughts for the third time and saw a note addressed to him. 

> _eddie, i believe in you. you are great at what you do and you'll publish a wonderful piece that you'll love as much as i already do. i love you forever and always_

A tear escaped his eye, then another and another until they were streaming down his face, which set off Venom's alarm bells like crazy.

**_Eddie? Eddie. What's wrong?_ **

"Nothing, love. I was just a little frustrated, but reading your message made me feel a lot better."

**_Then why are you crying?_ **

Venom poked his little head out from Eddie's shoulder to nuzzle his face and lick up his tears.

"Sometimes I cry when I'm happy and I'm really, really happy that you're here with me." He nuzzled back, then opened a new tab and started over.

* * *

It became a regular thing between them after that.

Sometimes Eddie would leave a post-it note on the bag of tater tots in the freezer or in the hood of the jacket he knew his love liked to curl up in.

> _You are the best friend and lover I could ever ask for._

> _I love the massages you give me in the morning when I refuse to let us get out of bed._

> _Thank you so much for being in my life._

Though Venom must be aware of Eddie writing the notes most times, they always respond with an excited gasp and a wave of pure joy when they find them in their hiding spots around the apartment or on their person.

**_Eddie! Look what I found!_ **

Eddie had pinned the fortune on his bulletin board and saved a copy of the sticky note as his desktop background, but Venom simply collected their notes on the wall. Soon, Eddie joined in.

* * *

While Venom had the ability to write in an exact replica of Eddie's handwriting, this was apparently the one situation they preferred to let their bit of individuality show and engage in more creative pursuits.

One time, Eddie bought them a bag of Dove chocolates and his darling spent a good half hour eagerly flattening each wrapper to spell out the word,  _mine_ , on the wall, with the messages facing outward.

> _Be your own Valentine._

That had been their favorite and was used to dot the  _i_.

Another time, Eddie was sprawled on the couch flipping through channels at random with Venom fully formed next to him, scribbling something on paper.

He'd just submitted a radio transcript he'd been working on for a month for review and Venom had told him they were going to make him a gift in celebration. They could see through each other's eyes quite easily these days, so he'd dutifully turned on the TV to distract himself as much as possible from his "surprise".

He was quite engrossed in the third episode of  _The Good Place_  when his love pulled him down against their chest and presented their drawings of... them. It was always Eddie in the center, with Venom curled behind him, half-formed around him, or them tangled together.

"It's beautiful," he whispered, then:  _I love it so, so much. This is the best present ever. I love you so much_ , because his mouth was too busy rewarding his darling with kisses.

* * *

Eddie had been collaborating with another reporter, Elizabeth Hwan, for a few months now. Since she owned a fairly large townhouse, they'd used her place as their base of operations, until last week, when she'd experienced a massive flood and had to crash on her friend's couch as she took stock of the damage.

The townhouse was still undergoing renovations, so after receiving approval from his other, he invited her over to work at their apartment.

Liz walked through the open door with a knock and a box of files and immediately came to a halt, eyes wide and darting across the walls. " _Jesus_."

Eddie followed her gaze, seeing his apartment through fresh eyes for the first time.

After some years, their walls were almost completely covered with the little notes, letters, and drawings they left each other. There was no rhyme or reason to their placement; there used to be vague chronology and grouping, but now the notes were just added wherever there was space.

It was comforting to him and his love. Perhaps not as much to an outsider, who until now, had only known him in a professional setting.

"Sorry about the," Eddie makes a vague, all-encompassing gesture at the room. "I don't really have people over often. Ever, now that I think about it."

**_Hey! Don't apologize. She's appreciating my art._ **

Indeed, she was standing near the back wall, tracing one of the drawings of Eddie with Venom draped over his shoulder, half-formed.

_Sorry, love_ , he sent back.  _You're right. Just didn't want her to feel overwhelmed. We love it here, but she's new. She's a guest._

Liz looked up at him, a grin on her lips. "Don't worry about it. It just took me by surprise, that's all. I never hear much about your private life, and then I see your kid's drawings and art projects all over the walls. It's endearing."

**_What._ **

"No, I don't have a child," he said slowly. "Those are my lover's."

Suddenly her expression didn't seem quite so pleasant. She opened her mouth to say something, closed it, and opened it again. "Are they here?" She whispered.

Eddie gave a small shake of his head, trying to contain Venom's bristling even as he felt a brief spike of irritation, curious to see where this was going. 

"I don't mean to offend, but I'm not sure if some of these are very... healthy representations of a relationship." She gestured as she spoke. "There are heavy undertones of ownership," the  _mine mine mine_ , "codependency," the drawings of Eddie and Venom as one, "...obsession," the apartment as a whole.

"I can see it coming from a child, but..." She glanced at his face and seemed to find something there that gave her pause. "I know it's not my place to judge. I respect you a lot and I just want to make sure you're okay."

He was quiet for a few moments as he and his other came to a silent agreement.

"Thank you for your concern. We think you're a good person and we want to explain ourselves since we think we will be working with you for a while to come." 

"We...?  _Oh_."

Venom emerged from his shoulder and draped themselves around Eddie in a clear tableau of their drawing.

**_"We are Venom. It's nice to meet you."_ **

They had to give it to her. Her initial shock quickly morphed into a friendly sort of curiosity as she took them in. There was no fear or disgust. They knew they could trust her.

She took Eddie's outstretched hand, entwined with Venom's, and addressed them both when she said, "Lovely to meet you as well."

They spent the next few hours actually getting to know each other in between organizing their research and planning their next interview.

"Thank you for telling me your secret." Liz told them at the end of the day. "I swear I won't tell anyone without your permission." She smiled at them both and, with one last glance at something behind them, headed back to her friend's place for the night.

"I'm glad that went well. What would we have done if she'd run screaming?"

**_Dinner._ **

"Don't think that's a viable option, darling. She's too prominent a figure in the journalism world. There'd be outrage and investigations galore."

**_That's why we made sure that she's a good person. Together._ **

"Yes, love, together."

**_Hungry now._ **

"Want to go to that burger place with unlimited tater tots? We can hunt after if we're still hungry."

_**Yesssss.** _

They walked past the framed letter Liz was looking at before she left, smiling to themselves, before they too headed out for the night.

* * *

> Darling,  ** _Eddie,_**  
> 
> I was recently reminded of the day we first met. I'd been trapped at rock bottom for months and you'd set me free when you and I became we.  _ **You'd set me free as well.**_
> 
> Thank you for taking care of me all this time. Thank you for bringing out the best in me, for making me want to be the best version of myself and do right by you. Thank you for keeping me company and never letting me get lonely. Thank you for making me the happiest man  _ **symbiote**_  on Earth  ** _in the universe_**  every day that we are together.  ** _Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for letting me stay._**
> 
> We're strongest when we're together. You said that to me. It's a statement that's proven true time and time again.
> 
> I want us to make a promise to each other, since I know we can't get married in the traditional sense. I know what your answer is because you've literally been whispering it in my ear for the past ten minutes while I've been trying to be romantic, but I still have to ask:
> 
> Will you marry me?  _ **YES YES YES YES YES YES YES—**_
> 
> I, Eddie  ** _Venom_** , take you, Venom  ** _Eddie_** , for my  ~~lawful parasite ** _bitch_**~~  best friend and lover, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in  ~~sickness ** _we will never get sick_**  and~~ health,  ~~until death do us part~~   ** _we will be together forever and always, we promise_**.
> 
> Eternally yours,  ** _Eternally ours,_**
> 
> Eddie ** _and Venom_**  

**Author's Note:**

> funny story, i got a fortune with that exact saying a couple days after me and this guy ended things and another that said "The object of your desire comes closer." i stole like ten fortune cookies from the hotel lobby and every single one of them was love related, it's actually hilarious
> 
> i have this whole backstory for liz hwan and even tried to write from her perspective at one point, but i couldn't get it to work with this story. it's honestly gross how many rewrites her introduction took. one day, maybe, she might make another appearance. we'll see
> 
> also how the hell do you format things in html?? you'd think having half a computer engineering major would help me in life, but no


End file.
